Making the Corpses Dance
by lakrymosa
Summary: AU. After an arranged marriage, Sakura doesn't know how to handle her new husband, who goes back and forth between ignoring her and being controlling. Soon she ends up in the middle of a plot that threatens the world.
1. Prologue

_"The Monarchy is finished. It was finished a while ago, but they're still making the corpses dance."_ ―Sue Townsend.

It was, as her entire life had been, for the Fire Country. For peace. So that the lives of soldiers who had died would not be in vain. The Fire Country and the Wind Country had had an alliance since the war ended 13 years before, while she was just a child, but it was shaky, and this marriage was to soldify it. The threat of war always loomed in the world, and the Fire Country had to be prepared. The last war, the war against the Wind Country, had been devastating to both sides. This was to ensure that something like that would never happen again between the two countries.

Sakura knew the reasoning. She knew the great responsibility she had. She just wished that they had chosen _someone else_ to do this. She didn't want to live out her days being the wife of the third prince of the Wind Country; she wanted to be _free_. She sighed and laid back on her bed. She didn't know what kind of person this Sasori was. Maybe he was a good person. Maybe he would be kind and gentle and loving and strong and would keep her safe yet allow her to do what she wanted. He wasn't Sasuke, the man she'd pined after for years, but he could always be better.

_As if there's a better man than Sasuke_, she thought, rolling her eyes. Conversely, for all she knew, he could be mean and cruel and abusive. But why would her loving family sell her to someone like that?

_Peace_. Of course.

She was the adopted daughter of Princess Tsunade of the Fire Country. Due to various succession laws placing her as the fifth princess, Sakura herself was far away from the throne, but that didn't keep her from being a useful bargaining chip as she was still part of the royal family. A princess was a princess after all.

She checked the clock on sitting on her wall across from her bed. Five o'clock, it was time to get ready for dinner, where she would meet her soon-to-be husband. She sighed once more, but tried to keep her hopes up. He wouldn't be as good a man as Sasuke she knew, but she could settle for a second or third place. It was, after all, for peace.

**A/N: Yep. Another one of ****_those_**** SasoSaku AUs. I'll try to update it every few days.**


	2. Chapter 1

Dinnertime. She was nervous as hell; this would be the first time meeting the man who was to be her husband. Her thoughts went back to wondering how he would be like. She frowned, her thoughts going back to Sasuke. If only she could be with him instead! They were star-crossed, she thought, even though she had no proof that he actually was interested in her. But a girl could dream, could she not?

She shook her head. It wasn't the time to think about that and besides, she had to give up on those silly girlish dreams. She was a woman now, about to be married, and she should have known better than to fantasise over a man she would never be with.

Sakura looked at herself in the mirror one last time, and went downstairs to face her fate.

.

.

Sasori had a strange demeanor. That was her first impression. He was affable and nice, but Sakura couldn't help but think that there was something deeper inside of him and that he was simply being kind for their countries' sake. . Which made sense if she considered it. She didn't want to be part of this marriage either, but she would be, because it was what she had to do, it was her duty.

They were like dolls. Puppets, controlled by strings, doing the bidding of what their families told them to. Maybe they'd grow to love each other by the solidarity they would have. Her mind wandered, forming fantasies of what _could be_. She smiled at those thoughts.

"What is it?" she heard Sasori ask her, and her gaze snapped up to his face. He had a lazy smile that wasn't unattractive for sure. Of course, _he wasn't Sasuke_. She pushed that thought out of her mind. She couldn't compare the man she had to spend the rest of her life with to him. She couldn't keep doing that.

She realised she'd kept him waiting a few seconds too long for the response.

"I'm just. . Looking forward to the future," Sakura answered, a chipper tone to her voice, before focusing on finishing her meal.

"As am I," Sasori agreed, his lazy smile turning into something more befitting a smirk for a split-second; Sakura wasn't even sure if she had seen it.

.

.

The new couple was left alone for a bit, to get to know each other. How nice, Sakura couldn't help but think, they were at least affording them the luxury to get to know each other first― Although, she knew, if they didn't like each other it didn't matter.

_Peace_, Sakura knew, was far more important than selfish emotions like love.

"So. ." Sasori began, breaking the incredibly awkward silence, "Tell me about yourself." He leaned back in the chair he was sitting in, gazing at her with that lazy smile and half-lidded eyes that Sakura was beginning to be incredibly annoyed by despite herself.

"Well, what do you want to know?" she asked. It was as awkward for him as it was for her, she reminded herself.

"Your hobbies, maybe? Interests? We may as well get to know each other if we're going to be spending the rest of our lives together," he pointed out.

"Oh, right. ." Sakura stammered, folding her hands in her lap. She wasn't usually this awkward but this situation was intimidating. She took a deep breath. "Well, I like reading a lot―" a good start, showing her intellect; "and I studied medicine for a few years as well."

"Medicine?" His interest was piqued, it seemed. "That doesn't seem like something a young princess would study."

Sakura could feel her cheeks burn in frustration as she frowned. Well, she should have expected something like that from some stranger from another land. "I want to help people. That was why I studied it," she explained, staring into his eyes.

"Wanting to help people and willing to devote her life to others," Sasori began, and Sakura prepared herself mentally for the frustration it would cause― "I think that's a good quality to have." Sakura blinked. Well, that wasn't what she was expecting. Maybe he wouldn't be so bad after all.

Sasori seemed to have noticed her surprise. "What did you think I was going to say?" he asked, almost amused. Sakura shook her head signifying that it was nothing, and attempted to change the subject:

"What about you? What do you enjoy?" And again, for a split second, Sakura could swear she saw him smirk, just a little bit.

"I like art."

**A/N: Sasori might seem a little OOC here. Don't worry. He'll go back to his ****_lovable_**** self soon enough.**


	3. Chapter 2

It was a nice wedding. Traditional. Wonderful. Perfect, even. Here she was, a beautiful princess, getting married to her charming prince and living happily ever after. It was in between the Fire Country and the Wind Country and guarded by samurai. Sakura couldn't have asked for a more _perfect_ wedding. Welll.

It couldn't be perfect without Sasuke. But she had to ignore that thought once more, the idea that her childhood crush was magically going to fall in love with her and marry her. It was silly and childish and she couldn't keep thinking that way. She had responsibilities― she had a _duty_. And that duty was to keep peace between the countries and damn if she was going to ruin all the negotiations and treaties just because she had a girlish crush on someone from her home.

Her home. That she was _abandoning_.

No. Not abandoning. She was leaving. And there was a _difference_.

After a day's worth of travel, they were in the capitol city of the Wind Nation, Suna. It wasn't, Sakura noted, as large and bustling as her own home of Konoha was― even at night― but it was beautiful in its own way― _serene_.

"It's different, isn't it?" Sasori asked, causing her to jump out of her trance. She blinked and looked over at him.

"A bit," she admitted. "I was expecting something more. . Busy."

He laughed, but it seemed hollow. "Normally, there are more people outside, but there's a sandstorm expected soon, and no one wants to be outside during that."

"But," Sakura began, confused, "Why would they have us traveling now? If there's a sandstorm coming?" She noticed him frown and run his fingers through his hair at that, before saying:

"They probably just want us to get here as soon as we can. They know I hate waiting."

They arrived at their destination late at night, a rather large, expensive-looking house. Of course, that was what she was used to, but the thought of living in it on her own with another person― a _husband_, that was shocking. Reality had finally hit her. She'd been _sold off_ in the name of peace to a foreign land, married to a man she barely knew, and been forced to leave all her friends and family behind, in a completely different country. She didn't know their customs. She was lucky that all the countries shared a common language or she would be even more lost.

Sakura had never felt this alone since her parents died.

She stayed stony faced, managing to control her emotions, smiling and nodding at Sasori's statement of how this nice house was a wedding present for them from his uncle, until they got to their bedroom. She lost control. She could hear Sasori sigh, not out of pity or empathy, but out of exasperation. He moved over and held her as she cried into his shoulder, tears streaming down her face. He awkwardly patted her back, and it dawned on Sakura that he was probably just as confused and worried as she was― after all, he was only one or two years older than her. That sense of _solidarity_ she could _feel_ between them made her feel better, and she pulled away.

"Thank you," Sakura said, looking up into his eyes. He raised an eyebrow.

"What are you thanking me for?" he asked.

"Well― I mean, you probably feel the same way I do! Confused, scared, unsure, anxious. ." she trailed off. But her eyes, her eyes were filled with hope and understanding and _solidarity_ and―

He laughed. He let go of her and laughed and the look in Sakura's eyes changed to confusion and worry and fear because _what was happening?_ He finally stopped laughing and stared into Sakura's eyes and she could see him now, now for what he really was― cruel. She felt her gut twist. He cupped her chin in his hand, and began to speak, his voice lacking the charming edge it had before:

"Let me explain this to you, Sakura. I hope you catch on quickly― I really _do_ hate waiting― but you're a bright girl, and I think you will." He moved in closer to her. She could feel herself shake a little. "I really don't care about you at all. But since we're forced to be together, I expect you to be an obedient little wife and do what I tell you to do. I expect you to respect me. Don't forget why you're here. Any questions?"

Her jaw dropped. She couldn't think of anything to rebuke him with. All she could feel was rage and anger― at her family, at Sasori, at the world, at everything. How could they put her through this, send her to live with some misogynistic selfish _creep_.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she hissed. He ignored it, and instead, inspected her wedding dress.

"You look good in traditional clothes," he murmurred. "I think you'll be wearing them more."

He finallly moved away and began putting on pajamas. She didn't move. "You might want to get ready for bed. Undoubtedly you're tired. It's been a long day."

"You mean― we're not. . We're not going to. ." Sakura stammered, her face turning red, not sure how to say _it_.

"Do you _want_ to?" Sasori asked, glancing back at her. She blinked. She hadn't expected that sort of answer, not with his spiel from before. . But when she thought about it, she realised that no, she really did not want to do anything like that with some chauvinistic asshole and that the only reason it had come into her mind was because she had been _told_ it was something she had to do.

"N-not really," she said, surprised by her sudden realisation.

"It's not worth it unless you actually want to," he said. And with that, the conversation was over. Sakura changed into her pajamas and they went to sleep in the same bed, still almost complete strangers.

Her feelings of loneliness came back with a vengeance.


End file.
